by Julie, celebrating in Somerville
Light the candles
Get the ice out
Roll the rug up
It’s today
It’s today indeed! The launch of a brand new series. I am so, so thrilled that Pruning the Dead is finally in folks’ hands. I’ve been working on this series for a while, and Lilly, Tamara, Ernie, Delia and the gang have all moved into my brain as I’ve been working on the books. I look at the world with a “Lilly would like these earrings” and “Tamara would rock those shoes” mindset, even though Lilly and Tamara aren’t real, and most of you haven’t met them yet.
Today they are all standing on Lilly’s back porch, taking a bow as the rest of the characters in the series clap and celebrate that Goosebush will be on the cozy reader’s map. I’m enjoying creating this town, and its inhabitants. I’ve been changing the Massachusetts coastline to suit the novel, but that’s the lovely part of being a novelist. I can change the world.
Lilly Jayne is the center of the story, and it is refreshing to write about someone who is not that much older than I am. She is a woman who is coming back to life after a period of mourning, and in doing so starts fixing things. There is a quiet power to women in their mid-sixties, and Lilly owns that power, but doesn’t abuse it. Making her an amateur sleuth made so much sense to me–she knows everyone, cares, and has nothing to lose by making things right.
I’ll be celebrating for the rest of the day, and I’ll also be on Facebook tonight with Sherry Harris and Liz Mugavero to celebrate our joint book birthdays! Head on over to my Facebook page at 8pm ET–we’re going to be doing a live event, so you’ll get to see us all and ask questions!
Also, Pruning the Dead is the first of my books to have an audio book option! So thrilling!
Thanks for celebrating with me today!